User talk:Woohoo86

What is fire? Fire is defined as a rapid, self-sustaining oxidation process accompanied by the evolution of heat and light in varying intensities. A fire is considered to be an exothermic reaction because it produces heat. Fire is made up of three elements, which are fuel, air/oxidizer, and heat/energy. There are four classifications of heat: Class A (includes materials composed of primarily natural fibers, such as wood, paper, and cotton), Class B (Flammable liquids and combustible liquids), Class C (energized electricals), and Class D (combustible metals). There are three methods of heat transfer: conduction (the transfer of heat through a medium without visible motion), convection (the transfer of heat through a circulating medium, such as liquids and gases), and radiation (the transfer of heat by wavelengths of energy). Some fire service professionals describe a fourth method of heat transfer known as direct flame impingement or auto-exposure, which is the transfer of heat through direct flame contact. There are three phases of fire: incipient, free-burning, and smoldering. There are three factors that influence burning, which are oxygen (makes up 21% of normal air), fuel (exists as a solid, liquid, or gas), and heat (ignition temp.). The range of combustible vapor of gas-air mixtures between the upper and lower flammable limits permitting burning or an explosion to take place is known as the explosive range or flammable range. Not very many buildings have been known to spontaneously heat up of start burning. But one or two have. Materials that are subject to spontaneously heating may be classified as noncombustible materials (react with other substances to produce sufficient heat to ignite something else), substances having ignition temperatures below ordinary temperatures, combustible substances (may undergo sufficient oxidation to reach its ignition temperature), and organic combustible substances (subject to biochemical reactions). When burned, materials can be put into one or more of four categories, which include fire gases, flame, heat, and smoke. When fire is confined within the walls, ceilings, and/or roof of a room or building, the intense heat, smoke, and fire gases will also be confined in the burning space. Many times, explosions cause fires in buildings, which is an effect rather than a cause. Depending on what their cause may be explosions may be on of four different types: the release of energy which has been generated by rapid oxidation; the release of energy which has been generated by rapid decomposition; the release of energy which is caused by excessive pressure; and the release of energy which is created by nuclear fission or fusion.

All building materials are considered matter, which is defined as anything that has mass and occupies space. Matter can’t really be weighed, but there are two ways of classifying the space and gravitational force of an object. There is a big difference between mass and weight and many people often get the two mixed up. Mass is defined as “a measurement of the amount of matter in an object.” Weight is defined as “a measurement of the gravitational force acting on an object.” Matter can either be classified as a mixture or a pure substance. With a mixture, proportions of matter may vary, properties vary with composition, and they can be physically separated into two or more pure substances. Pure substances are in a constant composition, are a fixed set of properties, and cannot be physically separated into simpler substances.

Now a day there is a lot of research about environmentally friendly building supplies. Environmental Building Supplies (located in Bend and downtown Portland) builds all of their houses and interiors out of what is found in nature. Many houses are made out of wood, but Environmental Building Supplies has found new ways of building houses that are safe for the environment and safer for humans. The materials used in environmentally friendly building supplies are of an inorganic classification, which means they are comprised chiefly of the materials of the earth. Organic materials consist of carbon, which is an element that helps to burn materials faster.

A very important physical law states that matter can neither be created nor destroyed. Each of the following contributes in helping a fire burn. When building supplies are caught in a fire, they undergo both physical and chemical change. A physical change is when matter undergoes change without changing its composition. This applies to building supplies when they get singed but don’t burn down to ashes. A chemical change is when matter undergoes a change that involves a change in composition. This applies to building supplies when they get burned down to ashes. Everything has a flashpoint (the time when something ignites but doesn’t continue to burn), fire point (the point when something ignites and continues to burn), and ignition temperature (the minimum temperature at which something ignites with no help from an outside source such as a match). Processes that take place naturally with no apparent cause or stimulus are called spontaneous processes. Nonspontaneous processes take place only as the result of some cause or stimulus. The fire triangle holds true to a lot of these. The old fire triangle consists of fuel, heat, and air. The new fire triangle consists of fuel, energy, and oxidizer. In an oxygen-enriched atmosphere (over 21% oxygen), fire will intensify. Carbon and hydrogen are the two most common elements in fuels (also known as hydrocarbons). Fuel may occur in one of three states of matter: solid, liquid, or gas. Most flammable liquids have a specific gravity less than 1.0 and will float in water. Heat and temperature are not to be confused. Heat is a measurement of energy and temperature is a measurement of how much a material retains. Concrete and drywall are two of the most well-known and well-used building materials in the world and both are non-flammable and both have a high burning/melting point.